


the line's in the sand (and our moment's at hand)

by aletterinthenameofsanity



Series: overcome in this war of hearts [1]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Enjoy the pain, I have no explanations for this, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Inspired by Fanart, M/M, Magic, Mind Control, That ending came the fuck out of nowhere, True Love's Kiss, i'm a horrible person for writing this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-26
Updated: 2018-04-26
Packaged: 2019-04-28 05:18:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14442186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aletterinthenameofsanity/pseuds/aletterinthenameofsanity
Summary: He remembers parties and picnics and late-night discussions, just the five of them. He remembers Roman’s grand tales, Patton’s warm hugs, Prince Thomas's unwavering belief, and Logan’s long parchment scrolls of notes.He remembers their family, happy, before that warlock’s roses changed Roman. Before Roman took Prince Thomas hostage at swordpoint, before those damn Rose-Fallen took over.Now, though, all Virgil finds at the top of the stairs is Roman, a crown of thorns wrapped around his hair. His eyes are yellow, his clothing is dark, and his hair is ashen gray.There is banging against the trap door leading up to Prince Thomas’s rooms. Virgil knows that Prince Thomas is locked up there. (Hopefully Logan and Patton are helping him escape now. If this goes wrong, if Virgil fails in his mission, then Prince Thomas has to be protected.)“You’re nothing to me,” Roman says, and his voice is emotionless. He is paler, darker, colder than everyone else- like the soil beneath a grave, cold and hard and lifeless.“That’s not you talking,” Virgil says.Strong platonic LAMP feels w/ Prinxiety and background Logicality.





	the line's in the sand (and our moment's at hand)

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Ready As I'll Ever Be- Sanders Sides Animatic](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/375987) by thepastelpeach. 



> Title is from "Ready As I'll Ever Be" from Tangled: the Series. This came from the famous fanvid by thepastelpeach. Link can be found [here.](https://youtu.be/wNqneoesKvw)

Virgil had never thought that he would be facing down the man he loves, Roman’s knightly sash thrown around his shoulders as a scarf. It shines bright against Virgil’s dark clothing, like a slash of blood against the shadows of the night.

Virgil’s heart seizes every time he glances down, staring at the evidence of broken hearts and dashed love. He remembers gentle kisses against the back of his hand, brilliant smiles in the dark, and an apple Roman had brought him from Prince Thomas’s garden.

Virgil has to do this, though. He has to fight Roman and save Prince Thomas. As much as he remembers Roman’s smile, his promises and dreams, Virgil also remembers roses that glint with the fires of war, dark and crimson and dangerous.

He remembers Roman’s betrayal of them all.

\---

Virgil never trusted that snake-eyed warlock. Roman had wanted _so much_ , wanted to be a prince and a leader and, most of all, _loved._

He’d never believed Virgil’s promises that he _was_ a leader, that Logan and Patton and Virgil and Prince Thomas trusted him with their lives. Virgil had seen first hand what Roman’s heart and words could inspire people to do- Virgil himself was definitely an example.

Instead, Roman had taken roses from a warlock he met on a quest. He’d given those roses to the citizens, thinking that he needed something other than himself to inspire admiration.

Then, the warlock had pressed a crown of roses and thorns into Roman’s hair.

Virgil had been there on the balcony outside of his room, working himself halfway to a panic attack over the way Roman had seemed to be pulling away from him, focusing more and more on the roses and less on their family.

Virgil had witnessed the way the red drained from the petals of the roses of the crown on Roman’s head. He'd watched, terrified, as the rises had become drenched in black. They seemed to pull all color from Roman, turning his face pale and his normally vibrant purple-brown hair an ashen gray shade.

And then Roman had gone insane. Turned mad by the influence of the snake-eyed Warlock, he had raised a hand. In turn, all of those who had been given a rose turned in the courtyard to face his window. Virgil had pressed himself into a corner, seeking to keep himself safe from whatever monstrous force was taking over their beloved kingdom.

The rest of them tried to escape. In the end, Prince Thomas had been kidnapped by an evil Roman and his army of Rose-Fallen. Logan, Virgil, and Patton had managed to escape the castle and gather forces within a nearby town. There, refugees from the castle had bonded together to form a ragtag group of rebels.

There, they'd formed this desperate plan.

\---

(Roman had never handed Virgil one of those damned roses. He never gave one to Prince Thomas, or Logan, or Patton. In the moments where they had had to run away, to escape the castle, Virgil had remembered that and taken hope. He wants to believe ( _has_ to believe) that the absence of roses among their ‘family’ had meant that Roman hadn’t completely trusted that warlock.)

\---

Now, Virgil is leading an army to take back the castle, him, Logan, and Patton determining battle plans. They know the secrets of the castle far better than any other- secrets known only to the monarchs and their closest advisors have been shared with them.

(They also know Prince Thomas and Roman better than anyone else. They’re hoping, desperately, that even if Roman’s motivations have been twisted, his battle strategy is similar.)

When they reach the castle, Logan and Patton lead separate contingents of fighters. It’s strange to see the royal councilor and the healer’s apprentice heading off to battle, commanding armies. It seems that Sir Roman and Prince Thomas have influenced them more than he thought.

Virgil’s heart aches seeing the bright, bubbly Patton and the stoic, quiet Logan strapping swords to their hips and breastplates to their chests. They’re his family- if they get hurt, he won’t forgive himself. What was four years of advice, warnings, and protection if they fall now?

Virgil tugs at the sash around his neck as he faces the castle. He _will_ save them all, even if it means sacrificing himself. He _will_ get his family back.

\---

(Virgil knows firsthand what a Dark warlock can do. Though his own powers could never compete with those damned roses, he can definitely wreak havoc.

Their plans depend on his scant magical abilities, and his sway over Roman. God, he hopes that held hands and dinners together and teasing quips equate to what he thinks it does.)

\---

Roman is the greatest swordsman in the land- an attempt to knock him down by force would fail. So treachery is needed, to save both Prince Thomas and Roman.

As the battle to take back the castle progresses, Virgil sneaks into the tower room. He travels a staircase he has climbed more than he can count.

The stairs end at the rooms on the second-highest level, which traditionally have belonged to the ruler’s Right Hand, their most trusted knight and protector. Beyond that, on the top level at the top of a ladder, is the tower rooms, which belong to the monarch. The theory has always been that the Right Hand is what stands between the monarch and danger if it arrives. The position of the rooms leads to the monarch being able to hopefully escape while the enemy has to travel through the Right Hand.

Virgil remembers days where all five of them ended up in Roman or Prince Thomas’s rooms. Logan would detail the events of the council for the day, Patton would relate what happened in the infirmary and the lower town, Roman would weave epic tales of his quests, and Prince Thomas would take all of their advice and listen to it.

(And Virgil? Well, as a late addition to the group, he still isn’t entirely sure what his role was. Probably to provide fair warning against some of the group’s more reckless plans. Prince Thomas was- _no, is_ \- the ruler of their fair kingdom. His decisions affect thousands of souls.)

He remembers parties and picnics and late-night discussions, just the five of them. He remembers Roman’s grand tales, Patton’s warm hugs, Prince Thomas's unwavering belief, and Logan’s long parchment scrolls of notes. He remembers the glint of all of their smiles, the smell of freshly baked food, the soft fabric of Patton’s cloak and Roman’s sash.

He remembers their family, happy, before that warlock’s roses changed Roman. Before Roman took Prince Thomas hostage at swordpoint, before those damn Rose-Fallen took over.

Now, though, all Virgil finds at the top of the stairs is Roman, a crown of thorns wrapped around his hair. His eyes are yellow, his clothing is dark, and his hair is ashen gray.

There is banging against the trap door leading up to Prince Thomas’s rooms. Virgil knows that Prince Thomas is locked up there. (Hopefully Logan and Patton are helping him escape now. If this goes wrong, if Virgil fails in his mission, then Prince Thomas has to be protected.)

“You’re nothing to me,” Roman says, and his voice is not angry, not sad or proud, either- there is no emotion. He is paler, darker, colder than everyone else- like the soil beneath a grave, cold and hard and lifeless. It’s the complete opposite of Roman’s normal bombastic voice, his normal vibrancy and life.

“That’s not you talking,” Virgil says, feeling the fabric of Roman’s sash around his neck. He _knows_ Roman, knows how he loves and lives and fights. Roman is a Good man.

Roman’s blade goes up, his eyes flashing yellow and black, and Virgil’s heart aches as he draws his own blade- an old sword of Roman’s, ironically enough.

Virgil knows that his own skills with the sword are laughable. Before Virgil met Roman, Patton, Logan, and Prince Thomas, he was an orphan. A nobody. A petty criminal, a figure drifting through the night. His scant magical abilities helped him survive, his skill with a small blade all he learned weapons wise.

Then he made friends, gained a _family_ , fell in love with a headstrong, brave, kind knight. He hasn’t used his abilities in over two years, letting them fall dormant without use.

Now, though, to save Prince Thomas, to save Roman, he’ll have to use them.

“I’m sorry, Roman,” Virgil says, hating what he’ll have to do to knock Roman down.

Their blades clash, and a silver haze spreads up from the point of contact. It quickly runs up to Roman’s hands, coating his black clothing (that doesn’t fit him, isn’t bright enough for Roman’s extravagance), and seeps into his chest. Roman stumbles backward, blade falling from his limp fingers, and clutches at his chest.

(Virgil hates forcing panic attacks on other people, but it’s the easiest way to incapacitate them.)

“I can’t breathe,” Roman mutters before collapsing to the ground. Virgil catches him as he falls, letting his own blade crash to the ground. He cradles Roman’s body in his arms, gaze travelling over his paper-white face and ashen hair. Virgil’s arms tremble- if this doesn’t work, then the next solution is the final one. They can’t risk Roman controlling the Rose-Fallen.

(Long ago, they all swore that the kingdom was far more important than any one of them. They promised that they would do whatever it took to save the world, and if that meant sacrificing their lives- then, well, that’s what it would take.)

The trapdoor crashes open and Virgil’s head snaps up at the noise. There, climbing down from the ladder, is Prince Thomas with Logan and Patton trailing behind him.

“He refused to run,” Logan says, pushing his glasses up on his nose. He somehow looks both perturbed and a bit pleased.

“I’m not abandoning my family,” Prince Thomas says, every inch a charismatic leader and every inch an orphan desperate to hold on to his found family. Something in Virgil breaks open. “So, you say you have a plan to depose Roman?”

Virgil swallows. Roman is already stirring in his arms, and there are no guarantees as to what he’ll do when he wakes up. “Yeah, we do,” he says. “A very, very stupid plan, but a plan.”

Virgil leans in and presses his lips to Roman’s, praying to every non-existent deity that this will work. His hands are shaking, his heart close to breaking, and he has next to no faith that this will work.

(Behind him, Patton and Logan are clutching hands. Prince Thomas is staring and hoping that his best friend will wake up, that the yellow in his eyes will finally be gone. Here, gathered in this room, is Roman’s entire family.)

Virgil’s eyes are squeezed shut, so he misses as the thorns retract from Roman’s forehead and fall away to the ground, black roses shriveling into dry death. He misses Prince Thomas’s gasp, Patton’s tears, and Logan’s quiet sniffle.

“Virgil?” Roman’s voice- weary, yes, but _alive_ \- asks, and Virgil leans back, opening his eyes. He can’t breathe, can’t process. Roman is _back_ , the yellow gone from his eyes and the death gone from his voice.

“Yeah, Princey?” Virgil asks, heart fragile. He doesn’t know what Roman will think of this. This kiss- True Love’s Kiss- was a desperate long shot, a foolish dream banked on old wives’ tales. He never in a million years dared himself to hope that the tales Roman used to tell would hold true to real life, and yet- and _yet._

“Thank you,” Roman says, and Virgil helps him up, taking Roman’s hand in his to brace him as he stands.

“No problem, Sir Sucks-A-Lot.”

Roman’s grin is broken as he turns to face Prince Thomas. Virgil wants nothing more than to take his hand (he can see Roman’s limbs shaking, and he wonders how much of that is the after effects of the panic attack his magic forced on the cursed Roman), but he doesn’t.

“I’m sorry, Prince Thomas,” Roman says, voice choked as he falls to his knees in front of their monarch. “To have committed such a grievous crime against you and the kingdom- I am ready for execution.”

(Well, that answers Virgil’s question- Roman _does_ remember. Virgil wishes he didn’t, honestly- Roman is _destroyed_.)

Prince Thomas looks horrified. “I’m not going to execute you, Sir Roman.”

Roman’s jaw is tense, the muscles drawn tight. “I deserve nothing less after what I did, Your Highness.”

Virgil wonders what he remembers of the past five weeks, what horrible things the Roses did while they were off figuring out how to return. He wonders what happened to Prince Thomas, trapped in these tower rooms. Now that he has a moment to look at the Prince, he can see bruises along Prince Thomas’ collar and shirt cuffs- what happened here? What did that snake-eyed Warlock make Roman do?

“We have laws against punishing the victims of magical possession, as your _estupido_ ass well knows,” Logan explains. “You won’t get a punishment because your priorly built intimate knowledge of the castle and the Prince wrought more damage than most.”

Prince Thomas and Roman both flinch, and Virgil’s suspicions only grow darker. Still, he agrees with Logan- Roman was cursed by the Roses, and what happened wasn’t his fault. Roman’s mistake in this was one of pride and ambition, but his portion of blame is infinitesimal as best.

Roman swallows. “I’m sorry,” he repeats, and his tone is sincere.

Prince Thomas reaches out his hands and pulls Roman to his feet. The Prince's smile is just as Virgil remembers it: bright and warm, though that doesn't quite distract Virgil from the stiff way the Prince and Roman both move. “All is forgiven,” Prince Thomas says, “But I'm not sure I should be your first priority at the moment.” Prince Thomas’s gaze moves to Virgil, who fidgets under his stare.

Roman turns to face Virgil, expression shifting into something approaching happiness. It's far better than the bleak despair that has been occupying Roman’s face since he awoke. Roman steps forward to stand in front of Virgil. “You're wearing my sash,” Roman says, voice uncharacteristically soft.  
Virgil nods and goes to unwind it from his neck. “I wore it to-"

“No, keep it,” Roman says, placing a hand on Virgil’s shoulder. “I have to earn it back.” Before Virgil had a chance to protest, to insist that Roman deserved to wear his sash, Roman continues, smile becoming flirtatious, “And besides- I'd rather you wore it. After all, you were the one whose kiss broke the curse.”

Virgil blushes furiously. “Y-yeah, it did.”

“May I?” Roman asks, and leans in. Virgil doesn’t back away, despite every fiber of his body screaming at him to run. Instead, he lets Roman’s hand cradle his face and then lets Roman’s lips connect with his again. Only, this time around Roman is awake and initiating things. Roman is gentle but insistent, kissing Virgil like he always imagined a knight would kiss. He allows himself to sink into this feeling, realizing that his fear from years and years might have been unfounded.

They break apart and their world doesn’t break apart. It’s not perfect, either- Virgil knows all too well that it will take a lot of rebuilding and healing to get things back to normal. They’ll have to figure out how to repair the parts of the castle that just got destroyed in the battle, have to help people through their memories of what happened, have to repair a kingdom broken by the worst of betrayals.

(They’ll have to deal with the bruises on Prince Thomas’s skin and the haunted look in Roman’s eyes, have to repair whatever is broken between the two of them. Something _did_ happen, no matter how much Prince Thomas may want to dismiss it. Both he and Roman had their bodies used by the Roses, though in very different ways.

Virgil has never hated anyone more than the snake-eyed warlock. Though the bruises on Prince Thomas’s skin will heal soon enough, nothing can easily fix whatever Roman did to him under the Roses’ influence. The memories of whatever it was will haunt both of them forever.)

But this is his family. They'll survive, he knows it. He believes it with everything he has.

**Author's Note:**

> So, what happened in the tower between Roman and Thomas while the rest of them were on the run? I'm leaving that up to you, the reader, and your imagination, but just keep in mind that whatever happened was deeply traumatizing and neither character will like to deal with the consequences of a friend (or himself, in Roman's case) inflicting such a grievous agony.
> 
> There's a rough road ahead to recovery, but the worst is behind them. This *is* Thomas Sanders, after all.
> 
> Also, there *is* a sequel in the works, so subscribe to the series if you want to be updated quickly!


End file.
